Is her bumblefoot back or is it a scab??

[guest226]

Dawn extra strength means there are a maximum amount of surfactants in it. Surfactants make water "wetter", thereby increasing the effectivenness of the detergent. It's extremely safe for the hen and for you.

Thank you. It did seem to soften the scab I ran out of time and had to something else. So it didn’t come off yet because I didn’t apply the hot towel for long enough.

I’ll try tomorrow again.

Also, do you think it’s ok that I gave her a painkiller (meloxicam) previously prescribed from the vet that had been sitting on a shelf for a while? The shelf is out of reach of anything bacteria-y. It also dropped a little on the dry dirt, but I assumed because hens eat dirt accidentally all the time it’s ok. Maybe i’m overthinking.

 

[azygous]

Sure, tackle it later when you have the time to devote to it. A pill dropping on the ground would pick up so little bacteria that it wouldn't make any difference in a world where bacteria outnumbers everything else, probably all put together. As in any battle, it's the amount that matters. Inside us and inside our chickens live good bacteria and bad bacteria. As long as the good guys outnumber the bad in our bodies, we're just fine.

Meloxicam is fine since most vets will prescribe it for poultry.

 

[guest226]

Sure, tackle it later when you have the time to devote to it. A pill dropping on the ground would pick up so little bacteria that it wouldn't make any difference in a world where bacteria outnumbers everything else, probably all put together. As in any battle, it's the amount that matters. Inside us and inside our chickens live good bacteria and bad bacteria. As long as the good guys outnumber the bad in our bodies, we're just fine.

Meloxicam is fine since most vets will prescribe it for poultry.

thanks for your help. poor clementine is suffering with cancer AND bumblefoot. I feel horrible!

 

[guest226]

Hi all. My cochin had bad bumblefoot on both feet a month or two ago. It almost completely went away, the skin had healed. But then now she has two large scabs again on both feet!!! It feels like i can peel them off but they are hard. Does she have bumblefoot again??

Should I take off the scab?? I have no idea if it’s the bumblefoot AGAIN or a healing scab. After she was treated before her feet pretty much got all better. Now suddenly it’s like this again.

This post has photos of her feet right now.

I’ll reply to this post with photos of her feet before when she had bumblefoot at first a while ago.

Update: One foot has a very thick, raised scab that is sort of light in color. No redness, but the foot pad around it is pretty weird and thick. Also the skin around it is odten peeling a bit. I've been clipping off the thick skin since it seems like it is not hurting her. I can provide images tomorrow.

Other foot looks pretty much the same since I haven't been able to get the scab/kernal out.

Should I just keep trying to get the scab/raised area off? That would require me to chop off a large chunk of her foot. Yikes, i feel like I made something worse.

 

[guest226]

Hi all. My cochin had bad bumblefoot on both feet a month or two ago. It almost completely went away, the skin had healed. But then now she has two large scabs again on both feet!!! It feels like i can peel them off but they are hard. Does she have bumblefoot again??

Should I take off the scab?? I have no idea if it’s the bumblefoot AGAIN or a healing scab. After she was treated before her feet pretty much got all better. Now suddenly it’s like this again.

This post has photos of her feet right now.

I’ll reply to this post with photos of her feet before when she had bumblefoot at first a while ago.

finally!!! one kernel out!! left a pretty large hole but no pus or blood very happy!

 

[good old days]

The kernel isn’t coming out dispite me trying to grab it with tweezers. The scab peels off but the hard kernel is very stubborn. any advice?

She does not let me turn her sideways and I can’t control her because i’m doing this alone. She does let me lift up her foot while she is standing, she’s otherwise very calm.

I am going to cushion a med size shoe box with old t-shirt, place my chicken in on her back, put a small towel on top of her so it fits snug, then get a bungy strap to go around the whole shoe box securing her in so I can treat bumblefoot by myself. Hope it works!

 

[Bawkbok]

I am going to cushion a med size shoe box with old t-shirt, place my chicken in on her back, put a small towel on top of her so it fits snug, then get a bungy strap to go around the whole shoe box securing her in so I can treat bumblefoot by myself. Hope it works!

What a great idea!! Very creative. Let us know how this works.

 

[arazla]

Followed this whole thread and still not sure if I have the answer to how you determine scab vs. bumblefoot. If you're not sure whether it's an old scab, healed over from a long time ago (for example a hen you got that from somewhere else), would there be any risk in treating it like active bumblefoot and trying to get in there to remove stuff?

 

[azygous]

A healthy wound scab will be thin and pinkish. A thick black scab, often accompanied by swollen tissue around it, indicates infection, usually staph bacteria.

You do not need to remove a thin pink scab. It usually resolves in a few days and falls off on its own, leaving smooth healed tissue.

A black scab must be removed in order to allow cleaning out the bacteria trapped under it. To removed an old black scab, I cover the scab with a squirt of undiluted Dawn detergent and let it soften the scab for several minutes. Then I apply hot compresses (not over 108F) on top of more Dawn until the scab turns to jelly. Then I scrape it off and pull out any waxy pus. Clean the wound thoroughly with soap and water, dry, cover with a triple antibiotic ointment, and bandage, careful not to cut off any circulation.

Inspect the wound in two days. If a black scab is forming again, it means there is still bacteria in the wound, and you must clean it out again.

 

[Bawkbok]

Azygous, This is a much more concise method of treating bumble scabs. Better than soaking their feet for 10 minutes in Epsom salts to soften the scab. It sounds less stressful on the chicken. Thanks for sharing your process.